The Andechs First Round

Though we looked forward to this as "The Andechs Round," it also included König Ludwig's Helles and Mönchshof's Feines Helles Lager.

We had to guess a bit on where to include the Mönchshof, as we expected it might be a darker beer than the other Helles. We had previously tried König Ludwig's Weissbier, for which it is well-known. The brewery, however, is best known as being the royal brewery. It remains in the hands of the Wittlesbacher family, which is currently headed by His Royal Highness Prince Luitpold of Bavaria (the great-grandson of Ludwig III, the last king of Bavaria). The House of Wittlesbach's coat of arms is the one you see on the bottle's label.

You'll find a wealth of information (in German) on their website, as the family has had over 70 breweries since founding their first in 1260. The royal family has been inextricably linked to beer and its place in Bavarian culture, with its institution of the Bavarian Purity Law of 1516 (Duke Wilhelm IV), Elector Maximilian's 200-year long Weißbier Monopoly (allowing only the royal family to produce weißbier in the 17th and 18th centuries), and King Ludwig I's contributions of establishing the great traditions of Oktoberfest and Beer Gardens. I can't imagine Munich in the summer without beer gardens!

Mönchshof was one we see occasionally in the stores, at least this Lager, their Weinachtsbier (Christmas Beer), and their Schwarzbier that we tasted earlier. Mönchshof began as a Klosterbrauerei (a monastery brewery, though primarily for their own use) in 1349, becoming a brewing company in 1885 (brewing primarily for export). It's now part of the Kulmbacher brewing company, with this brand positioned as "Kulmbacher's Sympathetic Beer".  

Mönchshof is from Kulmbach, in Oberfranken - the area which describes itself as "this is pure Bavaria." Think Hof, Bayreuth, Coburg, Bamberg...It's an area with a long brewing tradition but with smaller, more local breweries. And Pils is more popular in this area than it is here in Southern Bavaria. Hopefully we'll get a chance soon to travel there and sample some of the excellent local beers!

Back to the tournament...This one was what we'd call a triple overtime game. The beers were very similar - quite light and with very little hops. Mönchshof got the win, however, as it just had a slightly better feel in the mouth. I know, if we're basing it on carbonation levels, it's REALLY a close call!

Next up we have the Andechs round, with Andechs Vollbier Hell vs Andechs Bergbock Hell. Again, we weren't sure where to put the Bergbock Hell, but decided to place it with the Helles, even though it was a bock-style beer.

But first, about Andechs. For those of you not living in Munich, Andechs is a small town outside of Munich, in the Five Lakes District ("Fünfseenland"), situated between Ammersee and Starnbergersee. It's also home to the Benedictine monastery and its brewery.  Andechs Monastery 

The Holy Mountain ("Heiligen Berg") became the site for pilgrimages back in the 10th century, after word spread that relics including a branch from Jesus' crown of thorns were displayed there. In 1445, the first monastery was established on the site and the brewing tradition began. 50 years after the monastery was dissolved, King Ludwig I established the monastery in 1850 for the Benedictine order's Abbey of St. Boniface (Munich).

Interestingly (and I'm not sure why), this order does not recieve funds from the church tax that the government collects (9% of your income, if you check the religion box on your tax forms).  So, the brewery, restaurant, and products are their largest source of revenue. Though it's known for its beer, Andechs produces many excellent products available in the area. It's schnapps are incredible (try the Honey, trust me!), and its dairy products fresh and of the highest quality. We'll devote a post soon to just an Andechs tasting (beer, cheese, etc)...It's deserving of its own tasting!

But back to the monastery - One of the best easy hikes in the area is to go up to Andechs for a meal. The Munich public transportation system will take you there (S5 to Herrsching) and then it's a little under an hour easy hike through the woods and up to the monastery. A beautiful walk in winter snow, or an excellent chance to enjoy the view from the beer garden's terrace overlooking the valley in the warmer weather.

We were excited to test the Helles against the Bergbock Hell and find out which we prefer. Since you're drinking beer in half liter and liter sizes at the monastery, it's hard to sample many varieties and still be able to walk down the mountain.

First up was the Vollbier Hell. An excellent helles, light and clear and crisp. It was a very good beer, though similar to the other very good helles beers we'd had before (Augustiner, Tegernseer, etc).

Then we poured the Bergbock Hell, to find it a much darker, golden (but still clear) beer. Very promising. Let's just say that Andechs describes the perfectly: as "Lust at first sip."

It had a lovely almost caramel taste, with sweet malty goodness. But it was not as strongly spiced as a dunkel beer - it was perfect balance of a lighter beer (like a helles) with all the great tastes of the darker, stronger beers. And it comes with the 7% alcohol content of the darker beers... We still have many beers to taste, but WOW, this one will be the one to beat!

I'm so happy with this discovery and will make sure to always keep some around. It is a truly outstanding beer!

Needless to say, the Andechs easily beat the Mönchshof Lager and is headed to the Sweet Sixteen to face off against the Hacker Pschorr Münchener Kellerbier.

Bathroom Break

My friends and I have joked about this for years, but now (finally) someone has developed the ultimate product for sports bars (or home, if you're lucky).  A urinal game!  Now it will be the women's turn to complain why it's taking the men so long in the bathroom!

It's called the "Toirettsu" and was developed by Sega. 

Here's the, um, equipment:

...and here is a non-offensive video of how it works:

Not only is it supposed to be entertaining for the guys, but also it might increase accuracy, resulting in less time and expense to keep the bathrooms clean.  (Keep dreaming)  Frau A and I will be visiting Japan soon and I'll try to find one!

Odd Jobs: Teddy Bear Tester

So many fascinating jobs out there...ones we dream of having, ones we hope to avoid. And others that suprise us by their existence.

Last year Der Spiegel interviewed German toymaker Steiff's director of quality control, a man identified as Mr. Krebs. I have to wonder if this is an alias, as his name means Mr. Cancer. A strangely appropriate name for a man whose job is to mutilate and destroy sweet, soft little teddy bears.

Der Spiegel writer Michaela Schiessel describes his job as:

In the land of stuffed animals, there is conflict twice a week. That's when the designers at famed German stuffed toy maker Steiff are required to present their latest creations to the director of quality control, a man named Mr. Krebs. He is completely immune to the heartbreakingly sweet faces of teddy bears, cuddly baby rabbits and cute longhaired guinea pigs. The furry toys' baby-like faces do not trigger any paternal feelings in Krebs.

 

Instead, his feelings toward the toys are driven by scientific curiosity. When Krebs sees a stuffed animal, his first thought is to burn it, drown it and wring its neck. He chars them, covers them with saliva and tears at their heads. He rubs acid into their fur, roasts them under UV light and tests the way they respond to all sorts of chemicals.

Only when a test bear has survived Krebs' onslaught is it permitted to become a Steiff animal. And when that happens, it gets the company's trademark button in its ear -- a medal for bravery, if you will -- at company headquarters in the town of Giengen in southwestern Germany.

In the land of stuffed animals, there is conflict twice a week. That's when the designers at famed German stuffed toy maker Steiff are required to present their latest creations to the director of quality control, a man named Mr. Krebs. He is completely immune to the heartbreakingly sweet faces of teddy bears, cuddly baby rabbits and cute longhaired guinea pigs. The furry toys' baby-like faces do not trigger any paternal feelings in Krebs.

 

Instead, his feelings toward the toys are driven by scientific curiosity. When Krebs sees a stuffed animal, his first thought is to burn it, drown it and wring its neck. He chars them, covers them with saliva and tears at their heads. He rubs acid into their fur, roasts them under UV light and tests the way they respond to all sorts of chemicals.

Amusing as the job may be, Steiff is a prime example of German focus on quality - and also the willingness to pay high prices for quality.  Selling poor quality goods (except where they're marketed as low cost alternatives) is a guaranteed strategy to lose your customers here. Though departments stores and supermarkets have found a place here, there still are numerous small specialty stores where you go to get advice from the experts. Just in a 2 block radius from my apartment, we have a couple of model train stores, a knife store, a store selling small personal appliances (razors, toothbrushes, etc), a wig store, and a sewing store. Additionally, when you visit a large sports store, the salespeople are experts in their areas - they actually know the products and can advise you on your purchase. If you can get someone's attention....

When looking at sofas in a large furniture store, we were initially frustrated that there was only one salesperson for a small group of sofas and that no other salesperson could help us. Knowing that most service personnel in Germany work on salary, rather than commission, we knew it was not a financial issue. We later learned that each section had a salesperson who was an expert on those products and could answer any questions - therefore, the others could not help outside their areas. Still a bit frustrating to get help, but the system does make sense.

Back to Steiff....We've already learned about the famous Reinheitsgebot, or Beer Purity Law, stating that beer can only contain water, barley, and hops. Steiff has its own Reinheitsgebot, as a 10 point Purity Law governing the production of their plush toys!

And the price/quality tradeoff? Well, these cute little guys are tested and have various quality certifications....and you're going to pay $50-150 or more for a teddy bear ($235 for the 12 inch Pug). They are super soft and the other animals are adorable, but it was a bit of a shock to me to see those prices on a stuffed animal! However, that's where we can see one big general difference between German and American cultures. Whether it's clothing, furniture, electronics, or teddy bears...Germans buy fewer items, but of higher quality. As Americans, we're used to low priced, almost disposable goods. We buy more impulsively, and we don't expect to keep things for years. Germans will plan purchases, investigate quality and options, and most often will save up for a purchase rather than buying it on credit. And they demand quality and longevity out of major purchases.  I'm still often shocke by the prices here, but I'm starting to understand the system.

The Paulaner and Hacker-Pschorr Helles Faceoffs

One of our first rounds in the Helles Bracket pitted two Paulaner beers and two Hacker-Pschorr beers against each other.

On the food side of the equation, we stuck with tradition and ate Schnitzel and Roasted Chicken...there's no better meal to pair with the Helles style beers. Add a couple pretzels, and you're done! (And there's no cooking involved...all are available from your local Vincenzmur or grocery store).

Hacker-Pschorr describes its Münchener Hell as: 

belong[ing] to Bavaria like pretzels and white blue sky.

It's a classic, light and clear helles beer.

The Münchener Kellerbier is beer, as they made it in the 1400's. It's a darker golden beer, with some cloudiness and sediment. It also has more carbonation and has a slightly bubbly feel to it. It still has a light flavor, but slightly more flavor due to the different yeast style. The name "Kellerbier" refers to the fact that it's like the beer that was pulled straight out of the celler (where it lagered and fermented, with the air in the basement as the source of the yeast) and served to guests.

We preferred the Kellerbier and it's flavor and carbonation. Score one for "the old ways!"

Next up, we had the Paulaner beers...we had no idea how these two would differ.

Similar the Hacker-Pschorr beers, the Original Münchener Hell is their classic hells, while the Original Münchener Urtyp is closer to the old beers. The Hell was light, golden, and clear. The Urtyp here is classified as an Exportbier and thus was brewed with a higher wort to help it withstand transportation. These days transportation is no issue, but many still enjoy the slightly maltier flavor and darker color.

You'll see the word "Urtyp" often on beer labels. It just means "traditional style." This doesn't always tell you how the beer will taste, but gives you a clue that it's closer to the old style of brewing. Or you'll see combinations wtih just the prefix "Ur-" (e.g., "Urhell"), which means "traditional" or "ancient."

Surprisingly, we prefered Paulaner's Helles to the Exportbier. We typically go for the maltier and darker beers, but we just really enjoyed the crisp Helles.

But how would the Paulaner Orginal Münchener Hell compare to the Hacker-Pschorr Münchener Kellerbier? We actually chose the Kellerbier, though they were very close in taste.

It was still light (compared to many of the beers we have tasted), but with a bit more interesting flavor than the Helles. Also maltier.

This is the beer to drink when you don't like the taste of beer!

Upcoming Fun at Schnitzelbahn

So, the David Hasselhoff concert Monday was shockingly fun, surpassing all expectations. And I think we've solved the mystery of his popularity in the German-speaking world!  Alas, it will take days to go through all the video we took...so look forward to a post next week on this:

I've been spending my days navigating the German job market and bureaucracy, trying to get registered for German classes, and all of the usual challenges of living somewhere you don't fully understand the system (or the language). Plus trying to learn Photoshop and more about websites.  Looks like I may have a job in May or June (keep your fingers crossed or your thumbs pressed* that this works out), so it's time to really get started on my unemployment to-do list!

It has been a challenge, but I've been watching German TV and movies.

We're also in the final round of the German Beer Tournament, just in time for March Madness to begin in the US. And look forward to a special Starkbier tasting, as well as some other taste-offs (chocolate, schnapps, etc) and adventures in cooking. I've been doing a lot of Thai cooking lately, including my two favorite dishes - Yam Som-O (Pomelo Salad) and Yam Tua Plu (Wing Bean Salad).

Getting Ready for Starkbierzeit!!

And most notably, Herr J finally made a decision and has a new camera system! I'm still learning to use it, but it was great for taking video at the concert and has these cool art effects on them. Mildly frustrating that his camera automatically does several of the effects I've been trying to learn in Photoshop, but it's worth still learning!

With Lent coming up, Krapfenzeit will end soon - which means Fasching celebrations, followed by Starkbierzeit and then Frühlingsfest. Lots of great things coming soon in Bavaria!

We're headed down to Vienna for the weekend, with plans to see a very special German musical and visit a bar that is a year-round après ski bar. And sample Viennese tortes...yum!

* While an American would "cross my fingers for you," a German will "press the thumb for you." ("Ich drücke dir die Daumen", with the thumb held inside your closed hand).

Sam Adams and Weihenstephaner

Sam Adams is certainly no longer a microbrewer (over 150 million liters of beer a year!), but has managed to maintain a reputation for consistently high quality beer.  All the Germans I know love to drink Sam Adams while visiting the U.S. - enough said.  The brewer has expanded into specialty/seasonal beers too, some of which are historical types (e.g., Dunkelweizen, Summer Ale, Octoberfest) and some of which are distinctly American reincarnations of traditional brews (e.g., Chocolate Bock, Harvest Pumpkin Ale, Cream Stout).

An interesting development is their collaboration with Weihenstephan to make a new beer style.  Weihenstephan is the oldest still-operating brewery in the world.  It lies north of Munich about 30 minutes in the Bavarian town of Freising.  It not only has a brewery, but is part of the Technical University of Munich and houses a center for the study of brewing!  (I should have majored in that rather than mechanical engineering...)  Having started brewing in 1040 as an abbey, you could say that beer is a religion here.

Weihenstephan Ad: "Thirst for life"... "The origin of beer"

Sam Adams and Weihenstephan have developed a champagne-style beer.  Called "Infinium" (a little pretentious for my taste) it's an interesting mix of German conservatism and tradition, and American desire for something new.  The beer has higher alcohol content and comes in champagne-like bottles, but is supposed to keep the malty/hops mix of a good beer.  There are other high-alcohol beers made, but this has small-bubble champagne feel.

Technically, this is an ale rather than a lager, which makes sense because the original Bavarian (and Weihenstephan) beers were wheat ales rather than lagers.  They actually use a combination of German ale yeasts and Belgian ale yeasts to get the high alcohol content, which result in the tiny bubbles and taste artifacts.
It was limited release for the 2010 holiday season, so it remains to be seen if it is brewed again.

I normally don't like to post blatant ads, but it's easier to let Sam Adams explain it:

part 2:

and part 3:

We can't add it to the beer tournament, but Frau A and I will try it and blog it.  If you have tried it, let us know what you think!

Skiing in Central Munich

Back in July, we spent a wonderful(ly hot!) day watching Germany crush Argentina in the World Cup. We visited as many venues as possible, and that day chose Siemens Soccer City. Siemens had transformed Wittelsbacherplatz into a beer garden and viewing area for the World Cup¹ matches.

For winter, they did it again....but this time even bigger!    

To coincide with the Alpine Ski World Cup, Siemens built a 40 meter-long (120 feet), 12-meter high (36 feet) ski slope outside their world headquarters, located at Wittelsbacherplatz in Munich.  It's right downtown near the larger Odeonsplatz, next to the Hofgarden and beyond that, the south entrance to the English Garden.

The "ski area" was complete with two "magic carpets" to carry people to the top. Of course there also was the obligatory après ski hut (complete with glühwein, beer, and hearty bavarian food to warm you), and big screen showing the World Cup events. 

 "Magic carpet" ski lift

 
For a little over two weeks, Siemens Snow City was open free to the public. Though you were welcome to bring your own skis and snowboards, sleds were provided for visitors.

According to Siemens' tally, over 50,000 people took a turn down the slope, and over 420 kids participated in free children's ski clinics run by the German Ski Federation. As it was a corporate-sponsored event, there was the usual fanfare....an opening ceremony with children carrying flags of various countries, demonstrations and exhibitions, and the Celebrity Cup race pitting celebrities against Siemens employees to raise money for childrens' charities.

Munich loves sports and the outdoors - cold does not stop Müncheners, it only changes their attire, activities, and beverage choice! This was a fun chance for kids to try out skiing (without the trouble or expense to go to the mountains) and for all the inhabitants to enjoy a taste of winter sports after work or while out shopping. We fit in a few sled runs and a glühwein Saturday before finishing up our shopping before the stores closed for the weekend.

I don't know if it was only tied to World Cups, but I'm hoping Siemens continues putting up these public venues. They do a really impressive job!

poor Elector Maximilian I and his horse are boxed up and hidden from the party!

As you'll see from my spill in the video, it was quite a bumpy ride down!

¹ Known as the "WM" (pronounced "vey-em"), in German lingo. As WM just means World Championship ("Weltmeisterschaft"), you'll hear it attached to multiple sports. For example, we attended the Alpine Ski WM a couple of weeks ago. People usually know which one is going on at the time, so you'll see most headlines or pubs' listing just as "WM" and then the event or teams.